Women's Basketball Unveils 2012-13 Schedule

EMMITSBURG, Md. – Mount St. Mary's women's basketball head coach Bryan Whitten has announced his full 29-game schedule that will include 14 contests at Knott Arena. The schedule is highlighted by seven of the final 11 games being played in Emmitsburg.

The Mount will open Northeast Conference (NEC) play at home for the second-straight season and the 10th time in team history on Jan. 5 against Monmouth. Fairleigh Dickinson will close out the first conference weekend on Jan. 7 before the Mountaineers embark on a five-game road trip at LIU Brooklyn (Jan. 12), St. Francis (N.Y.) (Jan. 14), Bryant (Jan. 19), Central Connecticut State (Jan. 21) and Robert Morris (Jan. 26).

Mount St. Mary's will return to Knott Arena for the first time in 21 days to host Wagner on Jan. 28 to begin a three-game homestand. Sacred Heart (Feb. 2) and Quinnipiac (Feb. 4) come into town the next weekend with the Mount celebrating its Annual Winter Homecoming on Feb. 2.

The squad returns to the road at Saint Francis (Pa.) on Feb. 9 and heads to Wagner on Feb. 12 before coming back to Emmitsburg for the next four games. Central Connecticut State (Feb. 16), Bryant (Feb. 18), St. Francis (N.Y.) (Feb. 23) and LIU Brooklyn (Feb. 25) will conclude the Mount's home schedule. The regular season will end at Fairleigh Dickinson (Mar. 2) and at Monmouth (Mar. 4).

The top eight teams will advance to the NEC Tournament beginning on Mar. 10.

The non-conference portion of the schedule which was released in August will see the Mount will open the season in College Park against the Terrapins for the second time in program history. The Mountaineers also opened the 1994-95 campaign with Maryland. It will also mark the fifth time in team history the squad will welcome in a new season against a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference after starting the 1980-81, 2000-01 and 2010-11 against Virginia. The Mount is 0-4 against Maryland and will be facing the Terrapins for the first time since the 2005-06 season.

Mount St. Mary's will open its 39th campaign in program history on the road for the third-straight year and for the 21st time in program history. The Mount will start the season on the road for the fourth time under Whitten and the team is 2-3 under Whitten in the inaugural game of the year.

The squad will remain on the road for second game of the season when the Mount travels to Rider on Nov. 16. The two teams renewed its rivalry last season for the first time in six years and the Mount will be visiting Lawrenceville, N.J., for the first time since 2004. The Mountaineers lead the series 16-5, but the Broncs have won the last two meetings in the series.

Making its Knott Arena debut on Nov. 19, Mount St. Mary's will play Campbell for the first time in program history. The Mount is 27-5 all-time against teams from the Big South.

The Mount returns to the road with a Bison road trip. The Mountaineers will head to the nation's capital to face Howard on Nov. 25 and then head to Bucknell three days later. After not playing since the 1993-94 season, Howard returned to the schedule in 2011-12 with a victory against Mount St. Mary's to end a four-game losing streak in the series, but the Mount holds a 4-3 edge in the matchup. Bucknell returned the slate for the first time since 1994-95 with the Mountaineers earning their six win in six tries against the Lewisburg program.

After the Bison road trip, the Mount returns to Knott Arena to host in-state rivals UMES (Dec. 5) and Navy (Dec. 8). Mount St. Mary's is 8-0 against the Hawks all-time and 2-0 since restarting the matchup in 2010-11. The Midshipmen had won three of the last four against the Mountaineers before the Mount's win last season to give Mount St. Mary's an 18-8 advantage in the series.

Heading back on the road, the Mount will make play a pair of Big East opponents before the Christmas holiday when the squad travels to Seton Hall on Dec. 16 and Pittsburgh on Dec. 20. The Mount will battle the Pirates for the second time in team history and the first since 2000-01 after Seton Hall downed the Mount 71-68 in the initial meeting. Mount St. Mary's will make the trip up to play Mount alumnus Agnus (McGlade) Berenato and her Panthers for the fourth-straight year. It will be the sixth time since 2006-07 the two teams have faced each other with Pittsburgh taking the five previous matchups.

The Mount will conclude its non-conference slate with home games against American (Dec. 30) and Lehigh (Jan. 2). The Eagles have won the last five contests in the series to take an 8-5 advantage, including wins in the last two years since the rivalry was renewed for the first time since 2004-05. The Mountain Hawks return to the schedule for the first time since a thrilling double-overtime 86-83 win against Mount St. Mary's on New Year's Eve in 2003. The Mount leads the series 4-2 and the Mountain Hawks will make their first visit to Knott Arena since 1990.